


Della Vita

by nouveau



Series: La Famiglia [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Italian Mafia, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-09-21 19:50:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9563846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nouveau/pseuds/nouveau
Summary: A life ends as another carries on.-Italian Mafia AU.





	1. part one

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is another story I had hidden away on my Livejournal. This is part of the Italian Mafia AU that "Un Amore Sinfonico" (Demyx/Zexion) is also from. It might help this story make a little more sense if you read that one before this story, but you don't have to!
> 
> Plot backline (from "Un Amore Sinfonico"): All Organization XIII are in a mafia famiglia (family) called the Organization. Roxas is the capo famiglia, or the head of the family. For this AU of the same universe, Roxas and Sora are cousins (with Roxas being a little older) and both serving as capos in Italian and Americanmafia families, respectively.
> 
> Other than that, enjoy the read! There will be two more chapters after this, so enjoy!
> 
> Warnings: Alcohol consumption.
> 
> Written in 2011.

 

Bordighera was a town that took years upon years to fully know. Of course, one could easily navigate the City of Palms with an overanalyzing map, a GPS, or simply by following the signs pointing to every scenic riverfront view anyone would ever want to see. It was an easy, comfortable town of only 4 square miles. Anywhere you went, a gentle breeze brushed against your skin in a warm caress, smelling faintly of the many flower gardens that spilled over eroding stone walls. It was quite as well, except for the hum of activity from British tourists that habitually visited in the winter to escape their own frigid weather. However, the last of the Anglophones had returned home, for winter vacations were over and spring was on the way. Bordighera was a picturesque, peaceful town once again.

Sora developed a fondness early in his life of standing out on the balcony of the Cuori Estate, looking over the famed palm trees to the Ligurian Sea. The water was brilliant blue, reflecting the afternoon sun and filling the air with echoing crashes as the waves stormed upon the rocky beach side. The young man smiled absently, remembering the lazy Sunday afternoons he would run out to the balcony and try to see the sailboats going out onto the sea. His papá would scoop Sora and his cousin onto his shoulders so that the boys could see high above the treetops. Sora recalled laughing blithely as his Roxas would wave his hand in front of the brunet's face, acting like one of the famed Bordigherian palms, or point to different objects in the landscape, teaching his American cousin new Italian words. It had been several years since Sora had stood on the balcony; the last time the young mafioso could recall leaning over the railing to stare out at the scenery was just before he had been selected to become a member for the Kingdom Famiglia. Sora had promised to return to the estate every holiday, but after becoming the capo, life began to pick up, and there was no time to even schedule for a flight back.

 

Two weeks prior, a letter from his mother had appeared at Sora's front door in America. Roxas had been injured in an attack, and had a slim chance of recovering.

 

* * *

 

 

The funeral was a large event, as everything in the Cuori family had been. No family member would have had it otherwise. The past few weeks had been spent sending out letters to other members of the famiglia, verifying arrangements for the ceremony, and staying out of the way of the females. The woman workforce of the Cuori clan was a force to be reckoned with. The held themselves with a sense of seriousness, not allowing a single tear to shed as they helped around the household, tending to their children and the children of other aunts and sister and cousins. On the day of the ceremony, they all dressed in their nicest closed and paid their respects to the capo famiglia. Afterwards, they wiped their eyes and began the most important task of the day: preparing the food.

Plate after plate of hot food flew from the Cuori kitchen and onto the large dining room table. Empty wine bottles were placed in crates and stacked along the facade of the household, equating to a mountain of boxes by the end of the evening. Sora had kept himself busy, helping to replenish the pasta bowls and keeping everyone's glasses full. By midnight everyone who was sober enough to safely make it home had left; the others who had long since blacked out or fallen asleep resided in the many guest bedrooms inside the Cuori Estate. As the grandfather clock signaled that it was half past midnight, Sora found himself still awake, tending to the many pots, pans, and plates that needed to be cleaned. Unfortunately, it seemed that for every clean plate, there was a whole stack of dirty dishware. The brunet was so immersed in cleaning all of the cutlery that he wasn't aware of the shuffling of footsteps in the background.

"Sora?"

The brunet turned around quickly, caught off guard by the sudden presence of another person. His face softened when he realized who it was.

His aunt frowned, her arms crossed over her chest. "What are you doing,figlio mio?"

Sora stared down at the plate in his hand as although he wasn't entirely sure of what he was doing either.

"Cleaning?"

"No, you're working." Mamma Cuori took the pate from her nephew's hands and set it down onto the countertop. "Why aren't you sleeping, il mio agnello?"

Sora shrugged his shoulders, placing the cleaning cloth over his shoulder. "There are things to de done. I can't go to bed yet."

Mamma Cuori looked at the man with cool blue eyes, watching as he ran a hand through his hair tensely. Quietly, she took Sora's hands and held them gently against her cheek. They stood in silence for several moments, listening to the quiet rush of the sea that drifted in from the open windows.

"He loved you dearly, Sora."

"I know, Zia," Sora smiled sadly. "I should have visited more."

"Oh, don't be silly," the woman replied. She excited the kitchen for a moment before returning with two glasses of rich sciacchetrà wine. She handed one to her nephew before taking a quiet sip of her own. "He cried over you, you know."

"Roxas did?" Sora asked as he took a sip of the wine, feeling his heart clench.

Mamma Cuori nodded. "Roxas was just a few years into the Organization himself when the Kingdom Famigila came and selected you to join their ranks. Roxas was so proud that he burst into tears, right in front of the Decimo. He was happy to have his best friend officially become a famiglia brother," she said fondly. "So don't you apologize at all, Sora. There was not a day that went by that Roxas wasn't happy to have you serving as capos together."

Sora felt his cheeks grow hot. He stared into his glass, unable to make eye contact. "I didn't know he was so proud of me."

"We're all proud of you, Sora." The woman drew her nephew into a tight hug, her face hidden on Sora's shoulder. Dazed, Sora returned the embrace, his arms wrapped the shaking woman.

"Zia, are you-"

"No, I am not crying," she sniffed. Mamma Cuori pulled gently away and rubbed at her eyes. "This wine is just so delicious."

Sora laughed softly as his aunt regained her composure. The woman crossed to their icebox and pulled out a chilly bottle.

"Here," she said, pressing the bottle into her nephew's hand, "Go stroll along the Lungomare."

"I don't think walking around this late with alcohol is such a good idea, Zia," Sora commented hesitantly.

The woman waved her hand about fleetingly "This is Bordighera, il mio agnello. You're not going to be the only one out."

 

* * *

 

 

An hour later found Sora slumped against a railing running along the side of the promenade, his head throbbing from the limoncello resting half full in his loose grip. The lapping of the waves only further irritated his senses, the brunet's throat burning from the liqueur. Sora hadn't planned to drink any of it, but his aunt had insisted that it was an Italian tradition of mourning to drink along the shoreline in memory of a loved one.

One sip had led to two, then capful shots of the lemon alcohol to stop his mind from racing. Memories of his cousin were flittering through his head and paining the hit man's heart.

I should have visited more often. I should never have been chosen as the capo famiglia.

Angrily, Sora brought the open bottle to his lips and took a swig of the limoncello, wincing as it scorched his throat. The brunet stared down the promenade, watching as a laughing couple crossed the street toward a late-night cafe. A sleek black car turned onto the street, its headlights a sharp contract to the soft blackness that had fallen over the city some time ago. Closing his eyes, Sora leaned further back against the railing. Regardless of all the alcohol he had consumed, his mind would simply not rest. The smooth humming of a motor grew louder and louder in the night air until the sound seemed to be stationary beside the exhausted mafioso. Startled, Sora opened his bleary blue eyes to see the emblem of a silver trident.

"Ciao, Signore."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember doing quite a bit of research on Italy to pick the best backdrop for this AU. Bordighera is a real town in the province of Liguria, Italy that is known for its palm trees. The palms that grow there are world renowned and are exported to the Vatican City for use of ash in use in ceremonies. Neat!
> 
> Cuori = hearts in Italian. I know that's horribly cliché and lazy to pick for a Kingdom Hearts AU, but it works!
> 
> The Lungomare is also real and is a famous waterside boulevard. I don't know if Italian people actually do go drink there when a family member as passed away, but my Italian friends always talk about when they drink on the beach, so why not.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! Two more chapters after this that will be up shortly.


	2. part two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “... You'd better have a good reason for being this drunk, Stupid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is second part of the Italian Mafia AU that "Un Amore Sinfonico" (Demyx/Zexion) is also from.
> 
> Plot backline (from "Un Amore Sinfonico"): All Organization XIII are in a mafia famiglia (family) called the Organization. Roxas is the capo famiglia, or the head of the family. For this AU of the same universe, Roxas and Sora are cousins (with Roxas being a little older) and both serving as capos in Italian and American mafia families, respectively.
> 
> One more much longer chapter after this- enjoy!
> 
> Warnings: Alcohol consumption.
> 
> Written in 2011.

Sora lifted his head to see a familiar face peering down at him over the side of a stationary vehicle.

 

“... You?”

 

“... You'd better have a good reason for being this drunk, Stupid.” Riku opened the door of his car and stepped out, standing over the hit man.

 

“What'reya doing here?”

 

“My  _nonni_  have a villa in Genoa. Bordighera is a direct route to their town,” the taller man explained, his long hair hiding his shifting eyes momentarily from view.

 

“No. No,” Sora corrected. “I mean...  _here_.”

 

Riku gave the mafioso a long look before producing the faintest of smiles. “Perhaps some people really are keener when they're drunk. Here-” The man reached down and took hold of Sora's shoulders, hoisting the hit man to his feet.

 

Sora swayed for a moment before teetering to the side and leaning against Riku’s car. Riku led the young Cuori into the passenger seat and buckled him in before sliding into the driver's side and starting the engine back up, a golden star keychain glinting up at him.

 

Sora fell sideways, his head none too softly hitting the armrest. “Youhavea Maserati.”

 

Riku raised an eyebrow. “I do indeed have a Maserati. Even your observation skills are more perceptive under the influence of alcohol.”

 

“Shuddup,” Sora grumbled, his voice lacking any stinging malice. The young man stared at the dashboard, the bright lights of the clock-radio blurring his vision. “Wha time isit?”

 

“Almost three o' clock,” replied Riku. Eyes trained on the road, the assassian of the Kingdom famiglia cruised down the boulevard at a leisurely pace, listening as Sora took in deep breaths of the sea's air. “Where do you need to be?”

 

Sora shook his head slowly. “No place.”

 

Riku remained silent for several minutes, the lull of the sea filling the absence of conversation. The road stretched on for miles, passing cream buildings with terra cotta roofs that dotted the shoreline boulevard. Riku manuvered the vehicle around a subtle bend in the road and looked down at Sora before stopping along the side of the road.

 

“All right. Get out.”

 

Sora said nothing, but tilted his head in order to give Riku a perplexed look.

 

“You jus gonna leave me here?”

 

“Idiot. We're both getting out.”

 

Riku killed the engine and reached across to unbuckle the inebriated Cuori. Sora fussed with the seatbelt before stepping uneasily out of the car and onto the pavement. Riku was at his side in an instant.

 

“Who exactly allowed you to wander this late at night in such a state?” Mumbled the assassian, taking hold of Sora’s arm and guiding him steadily away from the street.

 

Sora found difficulty remembering which foot to put in front of the other as he toddled down the ramp leading to the rocky beachside. The smooth rocks under Sora's sandals knocked together as the duo made their way to a patch of sand running just along the water's edge. Riku released Sora's arm and smoothed away the damp sand before sitting down to face the sea. Sora followed suite, plopping down beside the other man and kicking off his shoes. Riku did the same, silently removing his loafers and trouser socks just as the tide ran up against the rocks and licked at their toes.

 

Idly, Sora stared at the darkened horizon, his hair becoming more and more curled by the moisture in the air. His mind was still a jumbled, incoherent mess, and judging by the throbbing headache that had just begun to bloom, his state wasn't going to improve anytime soon.

 

“'S was my mamma,” Sora said, feeling as although he was talking into the night rather than another person.

 

“Your mother let you walk around at three in the morning- drunk?” Riku asked incredreously.

 

Sora shook his head. “Wasn't three when I left. Mamma said is' a tradation.”

 

“To get drunk and walk around at ungodly house of the morning?”

 

“No. I mean... drinking an' walkin' on Lungomare when s'meone passes.”

 

Riku shifted his gaze away from Sora and looked back at the pinpoints of stars overhead, soon to be replaced with the soft colors of the morning sunrise. “I see.”

 

“Roxas died.”

 

If Riku was started by the sudden declaration, he showed no visible sign of it. Instead, the man turned to look at Sora with a rare, gentle expression.

 

“I had heard some mutterings, but I didn’t think it to be true. I'm sorry for your loss,” Riku condoled quietly.

 

“Mm, me too.” Sora gave a small, sad laugh. “Guess I don't have a reason t' hide from you in Italy anymore.”

 

The assassin’s sympathetic guise quickly vanished. “This is hardly a time for you to be joking about death, Idiot,” Riku snapped.

 

Sora shook his head. “No no, you don' geddit.” The man turned to face Riku with a serious composure. “Mamma tol' me that when I was little, your papa came an' said I'd be in the Kingdom Family,” Sora explained. “An' Rox was so happy that he started crying. But... I was always a little jealous of you. Cause you were already so good at… at being you. And fighting. And being brave. Cause Roxas always said I needed to look up to you… so I would come visit Roxas so he could train me so I’d be able to keep up with you...” Sora trailed off, his gaze hesitatingly meeting Riku’s stare. “Guess there isn’t any reason to keep hidin’ now...”

 

Riku held Sora’s gaze as the young Cuori searched the hitman's face for a sign of response- anger, annoyance-  _anything_.

 

“I knew that.”

 

Sora's bright blue eyes widened, his mouth dropping opening to intervene, before Riku continued.

 

“Roxas wrote to me sometimes about you, when you first joined the Kingdom. He invited me to the Cuori Estate when you first joined to discuss your adjustment to the family.”

 

“That’s not true!” Sora protested. “Someone woulda tol' me by now!”

 

“I don’t think my interactions with every fraternal family is to be of your knowledge,” Riku supplied.

 

Sora propped his hands behind himself and leaned back, staring at Riku in a quizzical sort of way. “So you've been 'ere before? Without me knowing?”

 

“Like I said… it has been some time.”

 

“But... you  _have_  been 'ere. You knew my  _famigila_ was in Bor... Bordig...  _here_.”

 

“Yes,” Riku admitted simply.

 

Sora gave a lazy smile, content with the sliver of knowledge he had discovered.

 

“So, you came here 'cause you were concerned for me, right?”

 

“Idiot.”

 

Sora chuckled, and then proceeded to do something he never would have dared to do sober. He knocked his shoulder against Riku’s.

 

The assassian stiffened upon contact. Sora’s mind was still hazed from the limoncello, unaware of Riku’s startled reaction, even as the taller man smacked him hard against the arm.

 

“Ow!” Sora reeled back, staring at his arm in disbelief. “What was that for!”

 

“I don't like to be touched,” Riku retorted. He glared coldly at Sora, who proceeded to scoot a safe distance away from the suited man.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: I'm not sure how clear this was as I've had a few comments on it, but in case it got lost in translation, Sora and Riku are in the same mafia (Kingdom Family) , and Roxas remained in Italy with his own family line (Cuori Famiglia) whereas Sora joined a non-blood family. As I said earlier, I wrote this back in 2011 and simply wanted to upload it onto this platform without changing or adding in too many new details, so some things I'm now realizing could've been explained clearer, but I am sticking true to it's original draft!
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! One more chapter after this!

**Author's Note:**

> I remember doing quite a bit of research on Italy to pick the best backdrop for this AU. Bordighera is a real town in the province of Liguria, Italy that is known for its palm trees. The palms that grow there are world renowned and are exported to the Vatican City for use of ash in use in ceremonies. Neat!
> 
> Cuori = hearts in Italian. I know that's horribly cliché and lazy to pick for a Kingdom Hearts AU, but it works!
> 
> The Lungomare is also real and is a famous waterside boulevard. I don't know if Italian people actually do go drink there when a family member as passed away, but my Italian friends always talk about when they drink on the beach, so why not.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! Two more chapters after this that will be up shortly.


End file.
